Completed over 85 marathons and ultramarathons in a dozen countries since 1997, including 30 victories in Spain, Belgium, Norway, Australia and the UK

British Ultrarunner of the Year (2003)

Australian Ultrarunner of the Year (2006)

Other Running Activities

Columnist, Ultrarunning magazine, US (since 2004)

Columnist, AURA magazine, Australia (since 2005)

Organizer, Goodenough College and Cranfield University marathons, UK
(2004-2005)

President, Goodenough College Running Club, UK (2002-2004)

President, Accenture Washington D.C. Running Club, US (2000-2001)

Biography

Akron, Ohio native Siri Terjesen has run over 105 marathons and
ultramarathons in 15+ countries around the world, including over 40 victories in
the US, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Australia, Korea and the UK. Siri placed third
in the World Championships (IAU 50km trophy, 2006) and won National
Championships at the 100 km (UK), 50 km (Australia, England) and 40 mile (Wales)
distances. Siri lives in Bloomington, Indiana, where she teaches and researches
entrepreneurship and strategy at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana
University. Formerly, she did her post-doc at Queensland University of
Technology's Brisbane Graduate School of Business where she ran for the
Queensland state team. She completed her PhD in London where she enjoyed
training along the city's network of canals and in the country at the weekends,
and was a member of the Serpentine, 100 Marathon and Road Runners clubs. She was
named British Ultrarunner of the Year in 2003 and Australian Ultrarunner of the
Year in 2006 even though she is a US citizen.

For Siri, the ability to run has been a blessing. At age seven, she was
diagnosed with scoliosis (genetic curvature of the spine) and wore a full brace
for nine years. During this period, she could only remove the brace for an hour
each day. At age 16, when it became clear that the brace had not worked and her
curve was worsening, she had surgery that left her temporarily inactive, with
two steel rods implanted from the top of her neck to her tailbone.

Siri's competitive and endurance qualities emerged when she completed her
first marathon in Copenhagen, one week after graduating from the University of
Richmond in Virginia. She began running competitively during her Fulbright
Master’s (Norwegian School of Economics & Business Administration in Bergen,
Norway) and PhD (Cranfield) studies and discovered ultras in 2003 when she ran
8:22:09 in her first 100 km, the fastest 100 km time of any American woman for
that year and 18th in the world.

Siri says, “I admire something in every person I meet at ultras. I am
especially thankful to the early pioneers, the race organizers, statisticians
and historians who have done their bit to legitimatize, document and grow this
great sport. I really love the camaraderie and find that ultrarunners the world
over are a fairly eccentric but friendly bunch full of energy and laughs. I also
really enjoy traveling around America, Asia, Australia, Europe and more distant
parts of the world to meet new people and see great places.”

In their own words...

Running achievement I am most proud of: In May 2003, at the
start line of my first 50K at the AAA England national championships, I met
Isobel Partndge (Kenilworth Runners). Isobel and I talked and ran side by side
throughout the race. In the closing 200 meters, either of us could have made a
sprint finish to claim the national title, but instead we held hands and
finished together in the first tie in a national championships. We have been
best running friends ever since and are currently enjoying being pregnant/having
young children at the same time!

Why I run: Running has always been a wonderful escape for me.
From age 7 to 16, I wore a full torso Milwaukee brace for my scoliosis
(genetic curvature of the spine) and was only allowed to remove the brace for
one hour each day. I preferred running without the brace, as running with the
brace was pretty uncomfortable and very hot--half an inch of hard plastic
covering me from my hips to just a few inches below my neck, a t-shirt
underneath and another shirt on top. By age 16, it became clear that the brace
had not worked and a surgery implanted two Harrington rods along my spine, from
my tailbone to close to the top of my neck. That left me pretty inactive for a
long time. During my senior year of college, I trained for my first marathon
Copenhagen on May 18, 1997, and rediscovered my love of running. This time it
wasn't to escape the brace! I really love the camaraderie and find that ultrarunners the world over are a fairly eccentric but friendly bunch full of
energy and laughs. I also really enjoy traveling around America, Australia,
Europe and more distant parts of the world to meet new people and see great
places.

Future Goals:Keep running, give back to the ultrarunning
community all over the world